The 1920s

Question 1

What was the economic situation for farmers during the boom?

Answer 1

Farmers were producing too many crops and couldn’t sell them, leading to falling prices and poverty.

Question 2

What economic policy did Republican Presidents adopt in the 1920s?

Answer 2

They adopted a laissez-faire (free market) policy, allowing big businesses to expand without government interference.

Question 3

What was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act?

Answer 3

It imposed a tax on foreign goods, encouraging Americans to buy domestic products.

This policy is known as protectionism.

Question 4

How did advertising change in the 1920s?

Answer 4

Effective advertising campaigns used billboards, newspapers, and magazines to promote products.

Question 5

What was mass production?

Answer 5

Mass production involved using assembly lines to produce items quickly and cheaply.

Question 6

What was the impact of World War I on the US economy?

Answer 6

Staying out of the war initially allowed America to prosper financially by loaning money to Britain and its allies.

Question 7

Who was Henry Ford?

Answer 7

Henry Ford developed the assembly line and produced the Model T Ford, revolutionizing the motor industry.

Question 8

What was the significance of the Model T Ford?

Answer 8

It was mass-produced, affordable, and changed the motor industry forever, with 15 million sold by 1929.

Question 9

What challenges did African Americans face during the boom?

Answer 9

They suffered economically, especially in the South, where segregation and poverty were prevalent.

Question 10

What was the role of women during the 1920s?

Answer 10

Women began to work in various jobs, gained the right to vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, and increased their independence.

Question 11

What was the impact of jazz music in the 1920s?

Answer 11

Jazz originated from black culture and became popular among young people, influencing social behaviors.

Question 12

What was the significance of the cinema in the 1920s?

Answer 12

Cinema became a major form of entertainment, influencing fashion and behavior, with stars like Charlie Chaplin and Clara Bow.

Question 13

What was the Hays Code?

Answer 13

The Hays Code was established in 1930 to regulate film content, prohibiting nudity and certain portrayals.

It aimed to maintain moral standards in films.

Question 14

What was the Great Depression?

Answer 14

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929.

Question 15

What was Hoover’s response to the Great Depression?

Answer 15

Hoover believed in rugged individualism, encouraging people to solve their own problems without government assistance.

Question 16

What was the New Deal?

Answer 16

The New Deal was a series of programs and policies implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the Great Depression.

Question 17

What was McCarthyism?

Answer 17

McCarthyism was a campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions during the early 1950s.

Question 18

What was the Civil Rights Movement?

Answer 18

The Civil Rights Movement aimed to end racial discrimination and secure equal rights for African Americans, with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 19

What was the Great Society?

Answer 19

The Great Society was a set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.

Question 20

What was the Feminist Movement?

Answer 20

The Feminist Movement sought to achieve equal rights and opportunities for women in various aspects of society.

Question 21

What did the Nineteenth Amendment accomplish?

Answer 21

The Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, gave women the right to vote.

Question 22

How much did the number of working women increase during the 1920s?

Answer 22

There was a 25 percent increase in the number of women working during the 1920s.

Question 23

How many women were working by 1929?

Answer 23

By 1929, 10.6 million women were working.

Question 24

How did advertising change in the 1920s?

Answer 24

Advertising companies started targeting women to encourage them to buy new products.

Question 25

What social changes occurred for women in the 1920s?

Answer 25

Women began to smoke in public, drive cars, and participate in energetic sports.

Question 26

Who were the flappers?

Answer 26

The young women of the 1920s who embraced new fashions and behaviors.

Question 27

What characterized the flapper style?

Answer 27

Flappers wore shorter skirts, cut their hair in bobs, and wore make-up and jewelry.

Question 28

Who was Joan Crawford?

Answer 28

Joan Crawford was a famous flapper who starred in films like Paris (1926) and The Unknown (1927).

Question 29

What role did Jazz Clubs play for flappers?

Answer 29

Jazz Clubs allowed flappers to express themselves through smoking, dancing, and drinking illegal alcohol.

Question 30

What were petting parties?

Answer 30

Petting parties were social gatherings where flappers would kiss men in public.

Question 31

What slang terms did flappers use?

Answer 31

Flappers used slang like 'I have to go see a man about a dog' for buying whisky.

Question 32

What was the impact of Prohibition?

Answer 32

Prohibition, enacted by the 18th Amendment in 1920, made the manufacture and sale of alcohol illegal.

Question 33

What were some reasons for the introduction of Prohibition?

Answer 33

Reasons included national mood against drinking, practical benefits for grain supplies, religious beliefs, and moral arguments.

Question 34

What did the Wickersham Commission report about Prohibition?

Answer 34

In 1929, the Wickersham Commission reported that Prohibition was not working.

Question 35

What were some challenges in enforcing Prohibition?

Answer 35

Challenges included insufficient Prohibition agents, bribery, and widespread public support for drinking.

Question 36

How did Prohibition lead to crime?

Answer 36

Prohibition created a demand for illegal alcohol, leading to gang violence and organized crime.

Question 37

What was the significance of the St. Valentine's Day massacre?

Answer 37

The St. Valentine's Day massacre in 1929 involved the killing of seven members of a rival gang.

Question 38

What were the reasons for ending Prohibition?

Answer 38

Reasons included financial losses, increased crime, and the high cost of enforcement.

Question 39

What was the Open Door policy?

Answer 39

The Open Door policy encouraged immigration to the USA, leading to over 40 million arrivals by 1920.

Question 40

What were the push and pull factors for immigration?

Answer 40

Push factors included poverty, while pull factors included the hope for equality of opportunity.

Question 41

What immigration laws were passed in the 1920s?

Answer 41

Laws included the Literacy Test (1917), Emergency Quota Act (1921), and National Origins Act (1924).

Question 42

What was the Red Scare?

Answer 42

The Red Scare was a period of fear of communism in the USA, heightened by events like the Communist Revolution in Russia.

Question 43

What were the Palmer Raids?

Answer 43

Mitchell Palmer claimed there were around 150,000 communists living in the country (0.1 per cent of the population). He started rumours that they had infiltrated Congress. He said they were working on behalf of the US government to spread communism. used the Red Scare as an excuse to organise attacks against left-wing organisations.

Question 44

What were consequences of the palmer raids?

Answer 44

6,000 people, who were mostly not communist supporters, were arrested and held in a prison without a trial. * 556 of them were also deported on flimsy evidence under the 1918 Alien Act. * People used the raids as an excuse to attack any group they disliked or distrusted. * Trade unions were weakened by Palmer’s rumours and raids because they were branded un-American.

Question 45

Who were Sacco and Vanzetti?

Answer 45

Sacco and Vanzetti were two immigrants from Italy who were self-confessed anarchists - who in 1920 were found guilty of armed robbery and murder (and executed in 1927)

Question 46

Why were Sacco and Vanzetti executed?

Answer 46

This was the height of the red scare: -Great fear and distrust of immigrants/ anyone with radical beliefs. -Unfortunately for Sacco and Vanzetti , Italian AND self-confessed anarchists. -Meant many people assumed must be guilty of crime, even though the evidence against them unreliable -Their trial was less a trial for murder, more a trial about their political beliefs. -The judge in the case was extremely biased

Question 47

What were Jim Crow laws?

Answer 47

Jim Crow laws legalized segregation and kept black Americans in inferior positions in society.

Question 48

What challenges did black Americans face in the North during the 1920s?

Answer 48

Black Americans faced discrimination, exploitation, and lived in poor conditions despite the absence of Jim Crow laws.

Question 49

How did black Americans express their frustrations in the 1920s?

Answer 49

They expressed their frustrations through music and literature, leading to a flourishing of their culture.

Question 50

What challenges did black Americans face in the north?

Answer 50

Black Americans in the north faced discrimination and exploitation, despite the absence of Jim Crow laws. They were often assigned menial tasks due to racism and poor education.

Question 51

What percentage of black American women in Milwaukee worked as domestic servants?

Answer 51

60 percent of black American women in Milwaukee worked as domestic servants.

Question 52

How did black Americans express their frustrations with discrimination?

Answer 52

They expressed their frustrations through music and literature, with their culture flourishing in the 1920s, especially in areas like Harlem.

Question 53

What types of music became popular among black Americans in the 1920s?

Answer 53

Jazz, soul, and blues became popular among black Americans in the 1920s.

Question 54

What was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

Answer 54

The KKK was a racist group that began in the southern states after the American Civil War and was revived in 1915, growing to 5 million members by the mid-1920s.

Question 55

Who could join the KKK?

Answer 55

Only White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) could join the KKK.

Question 56

What groups did the KKK target in the 1920s?

Answer 56

In addition to black Americans, the KKK targeted Roman Catholics, Jews, new immigrants, communists, and socialists.

Question 57

What tactics did the KKK use to instill fear?

Answer 57

The KKK held night-time meetings, burned crosses, marched in white clothing, and violently attacked minority communities.

Question 58

What was 'Rope Law'?

Answer 58

Rope Law referred to the mob killings of black Americans without trial, known as lynching.

Question 59

How many black Americans were lynched by the KKK in the 1920s?

Answer 59

Over 400 black Americans were lynched by the KKK in the 1920s.

Question 60

Why were KKK members seldom punished for their crimes?

Answer 60

Many KKK members held positions of authority, local police often did nothing to help victims, and politicians feared losing WASP votes.